Motorcyclist dead in fiery Colonie collision

Published 11:32 am, Saturday, July 26, 2014

COLONIE — A motorcycle driver died in a fiery crash early Saturday after rear-ending a road sweeper in front of the Colonie Landfill, town police said.

The unidentified man was driving on Route 9 near Crescent Terrace sometime before 1:48 a.m. when he struck the road sweeper driven by Boyie Maharaj, 55, of Schenectady. Maharaj was cleaning the road in front of the landfill. The motorcycle caught fire after the crash and was extinguished by emergency personnel, police said.

The motorcycle driver was pronounced dead at the scene by Albany County Coroner Paul Marra. Authorities said they were withholding the motorcyclist's name pending notification of relatives. No other passengers were on the motorcycle at the time.

Maharaj works for Russell Sweepers of Clifton Park, which has a cleaning contract with the landfill, run by Waste Connections, police said. He was taken to Ellis Hospital for evaluation.